Intro

MUD stands for Multi-user Dungeon. It is a multiplayer text-based adventure. It is heavily influenced by Zork (named Dungen in an alternate release).

There are other variants on MUDs such as:
MOO - Mud Object Oriented (LambdaMOO)
MUSH - Multi-User Shared Hallucination, Hack, Habitat (TinyMUSH)
MUCK - Multi-User Construction Kit. It is simply a play on the term MUD. (TinyMUCK)
MUX - Multi-User Experience (TinyMUX)

History

• MUD started in UK, about 1979 by Roy Trubshaw, a student at Essex University.
• MUD stood for Multi-User Dungeon, a reference to Dungen, a port of the text adventure Zork.
• MUD has come to mean Multi-User Dimension and Multi-User Domain as well.

How MUDs Are Used Today

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Creating Your Own MUD

There are many MUD engines out there that allow a user to create their own MUD servers.
An example would be:
CoffeeMud - available at http://coffeemud.zimmers.net/

• Has a built in flat file database
• Easy to spin up
• Modify the engine to create your own world utilizing Java

Setting Up CoffeeMud

1. Download Coffee MUD
2. Download a telnet client (ex. PuTTY)
3. Extract Coffee MUD
4. Run MUD.bat (Windows users)
   - MacOSX or Linux users go to htttp://coffeemud.net/guides/InstallationGuide.html
   
   
5. For a named server use this on the CLI (command-line interface):
   java -classpath ".;.\lib\js.jar;.\jzlib.jar" -Xmx85m com.planet_ink.coffee_mud.application.MUD "Your Muds Name"

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*The photo above is how CoffeeMud looks like after it has initialized.

Connecting to Your MUD Server

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• Telnet or Telnet with PuTTY (Windows)
• Terminal and Telnet (Linux/MacOSX)
• Default Port: 5555

CoffeeMud Admin (Archon)

• Can create rooms
• Get book and read it (for more powers)

For more information on Archon - http://www.coffeemud.net/guides/ArchonGuide.html

MUD Commands

Common MUD commands

• look (object) - observe object
• north, south, left, right, up, down - movement
• get (object) - pick up object
• inventory - displays your inventory
• status - display character stats
• help

More commands @ http://www.coffeemud.net/guides/refs/help.html#INVENTORY

MOO

• Since MOO stands for MUD Object Oriented a Moo allows users to perform object oriented programming within the environment to create new rooms and objects.
• MOO programming language: Object Oriented, Dynamically Typed, derivative of ALGOL, specifically designed for MOOs.
  • Stephen White authored the first MOO Server and language in 1990 usingC.
  • It has many of the control structures programmers are familiar with including if-else, for loops, while loops and exception handling with try-except. Each statements ends with a keyword such as endif, endwhile, endfor.
  • Verbs which are named MOO programs associated with objects (much like methods).

For more information on MOO:

• http://www.hayseed.net/MOO/manuals/ProgrammersManual.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOO_programming_language
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljm6RU6lRuM
  
  

MDA

MDA stands for the Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics Model.

For more information: http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf

Mechanics

• Deals with the Rules that are set within a game and says what a player can and cannot do.
• Helps to balance the gameplay and define how the game should play out overtime.
• Comes about from multiple tests and feedback presented by the testers. Feedback and gameplay is observed in order to later fine-tune a more finalized result.

Dynamics

• Describes the systems put in place by the mechanics of a game that affects the behavior of the players.
• Examples include things such as a Time Limit which builds tension, the ability to “leave your mark” by building something like in Minecraft, or a sense of fellowship by encouraging teamwork to accomplish a task that would normally be too difficult to do alone.

Aesthetics

• Refers to the qualities of what makes the game “Fun.”
  - Some of these qualities include: Sensation, Fantasy, Narrative, Challenge, Fellowship, Discovery, Expression, Submission
• Using the Sims as an example, it has the qualities of: Discovery, Fantasy, Expression, Narrative
  - The game incorporates these qualities and emphasizes them to draw players into what developers hope will be fun for the player.
  
  

MDA, MUD, and You

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How do MUDs fit this model?

• Mechanics, data and algorithms can be more adventure oriented or role play oriented.
• Dynamics can be modified by addition of Objects in MOOs
• MUDs can fit all of the Aesthetics!
• The Aesthetic of MUDs is only limited by a combination of creativity and commands.

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Other Links
http://www.mudconnect.com/ - list of many MUDs
http://mudstats.com/ - statistical information for monitored MUDs.
http://www.andreasen.org/newmud/ - list of MUD engines and their project status.
http://mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm - An interesting abstract on players who suit MUDS